it has started!

yes! the new school year has officially started! YZ is starting his P2 year and YR is officially attending his K1 church kindy today!

both boys need to be in school respectively by early 7-ish and 8-ish. @_@

so the husband and i started early today at 6am to prepare the elder boy for his school. once he has set off for school, it's time to prepare YR for his school.

 

happy with going to kindy for the first time. he is definitely a more confident boy than gor gor but we shall see how well he adapts after that.

we were with YR for his orientation day this morning and I was glad to see he seems eager and happy in the new environment. let's hope it continues.
YZ typically is nervous and reserved in new environment but he adapts very well as time passes. YR, on the contrary, is normally more outgoing and at ease in new settings but sometimes with time, he may regress to being hesitant and upset when things don't turn out well in his opinion.
in short, YZ starts out with low expectations and when things progress normally, he starts to build the confidence and takes everything in his stride. YZ on the other hand always started out confident and optimistic but when things take a turn not aligned to his high expectations, he turns confused and starts running back to us to complain and turning wary of the new place.
LOL. they are so different and managing their expectations and guiding them needs to be different too.

after settling all the admin stuff - logistics with school bus drivers and buying the last bit of textbooks, uniforms etc - I headed back to work.
by the time we fetched the boys back from my mum's place/childcare, I was so drained.
I need to sleep before 11pm today! need to use this weekend to start planning for the real school week next week!
jia you!

new year! new start!

happy 2015!
 
after having no new year resolutions for so many years, maybe it's time to set some for this new year.
maybe not so much as resolutions but more of reminders.
 
ok, here goes:
1. take ownership of my health 

• drink more water, cut down on sugared water except for milo kosong :P
• try to exercise at least twice a week - brisk walking counts
• cut down on chips to maximum twice a month
• continue with salad lunches for 2-3x/week
• cut down on carbs, sugar, acidic food

it will be nightmarish to keep track of the calories and everything the way I did when I tried to lose some kgs back in sept. just have to try incorporating the few important guidelines of above as much as I can into my mindset so it's natural for me to do so. more sustainable too.

2. learning to be kind

• starting with those people closes to me, try to be kinder. we tend to treat those closest to the heart harshly thinking they should understand us and able to tolerate such behavior from us better. what a wrong way to think. they deserve our kindness all the more simply because they are worth it. I need to start recognizing this fact.
• read somewhere that being kind is like a muscle. the more you exercise it, the stronger it will become. while im sure most of us are kind by nature but there are always room to improve. small acts like treating people in service with a smile and kind words are good ways for a start.

3. im at a age where routine may start to be good for me

with the boys growing up, attending schools and needing more time and attention from me, I need to structure my time in a way that is productive and fair to most including myself. having said so, im not saying farewell to being spontaneous but you can plan to be spontaneous too! LOL. planning ahead can give you  pockets of time to be spontaneous too.

I need to start thinking of feasible routine for the usual day-to-day so I can take care of myself and my loved ones well.

4. taking time-out to reflect

I started to realize how important it is have some time alone or with others to reflect on what has passed. only upon reflection do you reconcile within yourself on the lessons learnt or next course of actions. what you have internalize is something strong and no one can influence it so it's important to do so. reflection is an important step if you wish to grow wiser instead of just older. :P

5. you plan, you commit, you achieve

this shall be my advice to myself for 2015. be it at work or in personal life. for a start, work is going to be challenging for the new year not because of anything but because I want it to be. I want to stretch myself and achieve what I think im capable of at work. it will be a good year to grow myself professionally. :)
outside of work, it is definitely going to be challenging us having to wake up at 6am daily to ensure the boys get to their schools on time and dealing with the additional school work with them after our work. evenings are going to be as short as they can be so I need to have a think on how time can be maximized since i need to turn in by 11pm! I will commit to that timing as it only makes sense to do so if I want to stay healthy with enough sleep and ensuring that the next day is going to be an equally productive day and not one where I have to turn to caffeine to stay functional.
travel plans wise - it should continue. and more planning taking into account the kids' school holidays, hubbi and my peak periods at work, budget, leave balance etc. is necessary.

for a start, my Q1 travel plans are more or less firmed up! a super short weekend getaway with the colls nearby in mid jan followed by a short trip in the region with the in-laws and my mum in mar!
I need to start thinking of places to go and planning ahead for the Jun and Nov school holidays! :)

the above sounds good for a start! along the way, im sure I will slip back into old ways of being lazy and going with the flow but so long from time to time im reminded of the points above and work on them, im sure im not so far off from what I set out to do/be.

lastly, I hope health and happiness for my loved ones and myself. and believe me, we can do our part in ensuring health and happiness so stop only leaving them to hope but work on them too!

my day again! turning 33 is as peaceful as it can get.

*hoot* its my birthday today! and what better way to start it than to have an eczema flare around my neck and chest areas! @_@

this is the first time im having it other than around my tummy area and in SG (normally I get it when in cold dry countries overseas or during my pregnancy times when the hormones went awry and left me with super dry skin).

gosh, what a nice way my body is telling me that im getting old. jeez.

being positive me, im not going to let this get me down for too long though the itch can be so unbearable at times. :(

appointment to doc will have to wait for tomorrow when I have the time..

 

I slapped on moisturizer to ease the itch abit and kept myself busy with work in the morning to get my mind off it.

today I worked from home in the morning and it was great being at home with the 2 boys. though most of the time they self-entertained themselves leaving me to work on my laptop, I like being close to them. :)

 

ended my work and left the house with them to raffles city where we met up with my ex/current colls for lunch @ marche!

it was nice catching up with them even though I see some of them almost everyday... LOL. missing ping's presence, cant wait for her to be back from Belgium in early jan!

 

some photos for the week:

 

random photos taken before attending my cousin's wedding at Red house @ prinsep st last Saturday

 

 

@ marche - lunch with colls. they got me a small cake from awfully chocolate - sweet!

and yes, I had my haircut last sunday.

 

had a quiet dinner with the husband when he was back from work (poor guy doesn't have half day off at work). now we are well settled to start our evening program - watching LOTR - the return of the king extended version that is almost 4.5hours long!

i wonder if the boys can last the whole show. we have promised them that they will decide their bedtime tonight as a treat. ha. let's see how it goes.

 

it's always lovely to end the last day of the year and my birthday with persons whom I love. :)

recap of 2014

time to look back and take stock of how fulfilling 2014 has been to me!

Jan:
1. my elder boy reached an important milestone - P1! and thankfully he has been settling well into it and ended the school year with good results and developing a keen interest in learning.
2. YR turned 4YO and we had a staycation at holiday inn @ orchard with the day spent at science centre.
3. hubbi turned 37YO and we had a delicious bday lunch with the boys at gyu kaku.

Feb:
1. its our 12 years anniversary since we started dating! we celebrated at au petit salut.
2. happy times spent with family and friends during CNY.
3. had a new opportunity for career which I turned down. not exactly a good fit, most importantly, it's not what I really want to do.

Mar:
1. 4D3N HK trip with the peeps! it has been so long since I last travelled with friends! was a blast but also one that turned me away from alcohol at least for a few good months...*blech*
2. went to Eason's concert - fantastic voice!

Apr:
1. hubbi was promoted - while undeniably this is great for his career and for us in some ways, he has to deal with the challenges and stress level that comes with it. I can only encourage him by motivated words at times...
2. a small windfall from work when my company shares were matched 1-for-1 after 3 years finally!

May:
1. caught "Tap dogs" performance with the husband. been on my list to do with him since we first got together! finally did it after 12 years..

Jun:
1.5D4N Bali trip - first time for the ng family! it was fun but very tiring with all the commuting from ubud and rest of bali. no way are we going to stay at ubud the next time! :P
2. rotated to a new role at work which gives me the job satisfaction that has evaded me for the past 1.5 years at least! really happy for the new challenges. :)

Jul:
1. attended yanzi's concert and was suitably impressed with her live singing.
2. World cup 2014! Italy didn't perform as well as what I would love to see. but go go azzurris!

Aug:
1. EXO concert is the best! 2nd time watching a Korean concert and got to admit their stage set up is really good!
2. my lego expert sets are growing well! adding the haunted house to my collection of 4 modular building sets.

Sept:
1. 5D4N HCMC trip - not exactly an interesting city to spend this amount of time in but the ng family spent quality time together as a result. ha.
2. attended F1 concert - Mayday this year! - with the husband!
3. 8 years anniversary as mr & mrs! simple dinner and movie is always my preferred way to spend time with hubbi! :)
4. Bonus and pay increment time! nothing spectacular but enough for some little treats to my loved ones and myself!

Oct:
1. YZ's 7YO bday - spend the loveliest day at the zoo with the boys.
2. bought the bvlgari b.zero ring for myself - gorgeous!

Nov:
1. 12D11N korea trip - best trip of the year! the boys amazed us again with their energy and ability to adapt in new environment! good! we can plan to go further and for longer time for our next trip! hiaks!
2. Had my annual medical review and received clean bill of health - better than last year in fact! what a blessing.

Dec:
1. Yet another opportunity for my career but again, I turned down after serious consideration. just doesn't feel much like a progression to me.
2. lovely bday pressie from the husband though knowing him, he's not going to let me forget it so fast (which I tend to do often). :P

xmas season

it has been a good week - with the xmas season right smacked in the middle of the week. :D
on xmas eve, I worked from home in the morning with the elder boy. he was sweet and quietly did his holiday homework beside me.
after lunch, we headed out to fetch the younger boy from his xmas party at childcare and my mum from her house and off we went to tampines!
though it was just simple time spent at isetan, popular etc, I can see they enjoyed each other company - more so for my mum. :)
before long, hubbi joined us from his work and we had dinner at DTF before catching "night at the museum3".
the crowd at the cinema was atrocious. luckily we got the tickets in advance last weekend...the show was hilarious though the first installment will always be the best but I like the ending of this one.
the best thing is how much the boys and my mum enjoyed it, laughing their heads off every now and then! *thumbs up*

xmas was pretty quiet with us making our way to bedok mall for lunch and ended up buying my bday pressie using the capmall vouchers the gang has gotten me 2 weeks back.
in the end, I chose the batman arkham asylum breakout set - more for the boys really.
we started yesterday and completed building it this morning and they have been playing with it ever since!

and yesterday, we went to pick up the husband's gift for me! been waiting for it for soooo long till I'm actually zen now that I have it.. LOL.
but I appreciate this gesture of his - getting it for knowing how much I love rocks despite himself being a firm believer of how much they are not worth it. :P

and my 33rd birthday is creeping up on me! *gasp*
but im more saddened by the fact that 2014 is soon over. too fast!
and my boys are starting their P2 & K1 next Friday! too soon!

random updates

as we get older, conversations with friends start to skew towards what's the best way to increase metabolism rate, what are the healthy stuff to eat, what kind of exercises are best to tone your tummies etc...
and I have my fair share of "gurus" around me who dish out advices to me whether or not I want to.
 
so the latest craze for me are:

• almond milk - apparently milk is acidic by nature so best not to consume too much. almond milk is a great choice of substitution and it's low in calories too! so now I've been getting that for the past half month from NTUC or cold storage. quite an acquired taste I guess, like water with diluted almond essence dripped into it...
• greek yogurt - healthier choice and I substituted that as supplement to dinner or as supper recently with fruits. surprisingly im ok with the sour taste that some may find bleh
• berries of any kind - told that fruits can be classified as high or low GI. berries are considered low GI (lower in sugar content or something). so ive been getting blueberries, raspberries for the past month and adding that to the yogurt. yum!
• salads for lunch - I try to have that at least twice a week. meatless with balsamic vinegar. trying to up the greens portions..

for exercising, I have been slacking.. :(
the pain in the left knee persists and a follow-up with the doctor seems to suggest should be a ligament strain instead and needs months for it to fully recover.
I really should resume the brisk walking and muscle building exercises like TODAY!
but I didn't so I shall start tomorrow.

wish me luck! hope I can kick-start tomorrow and persevere like 3+months back when I started running and it became a thrice weekly stint!

the problem with starting all these fads is they fade away pretty fast sometimes like how fads should be. @_@

loots from korea + catching up on movies

i headed to korea with lofty ambitions that i'll come back with a lot of shopping!
the truth is while i managed to buy lovely stuff back, it's a wee bit disappointing that choices is really limited due to the autumn/winter period.

clothings is especially tricky for every shops seem to be selling coats, down jackets and everything associated with coldwear. @_@
nothing practical enough for SG weather.
and i really searched hard, believe me i did, as and when i can to find suitable clothings but i had no choice but to concede defeat at the end....

the good thing is while clothings is a problem, there are still the masks, shoes, accessories, bags to look at! :D
but of cos, shopping has to be planned. with most of the itineraries focusing on sight-seeing, i had to squeeze time to shop with or without the boys.

so what did i get from this trip?
 - masksssssssssssssssssssssssss : face, eye, lip, hand masks from the usual suspects: innisfree, nature republic, tony moly, laneige etc
- 2 pair of shoes from ferragamo : 30% sales over there and with better exchange rate and tax rebates, they are pretty good buys. :D
- pearl tribal earrings from dior: ended up same price as SG *puke*
- 1 shirt, 1 top, 1 shirt dress & 1 pullover: all long-sleeved.. @_@
- a bucket bag from la palette
- random accessories here and there

yup, that's about it.
not too bad if you have seen how most of the available clothings for sale there! its much easier to shop when i was there last jun!

and on the flight back, i watched 3 movies - though i ff abit for the last one for the flight was only 6hrs+ in all.
i finally caught kenshin - the legend ends and its better than Kyoto inferno. so glad i managed to watch it as i didn't manage to catch it on big screens.
next up, i watched sob korean movie - my brilliant life - which was a bad idea as i started sobbing again! luckily, lights were dimmed for this part of the journey and i stuffed tissue under my specs to soak up the tears and hid my hideous sobbing face from sight.
it's a show about a young parents losing their son to a rare genetic disorder. so much of the dialogue resonates with the parent in me.. so sad...
the third one was sin city 2 which was a total crap. such a shame when the first was so original and intriguing. that was why i ff through the 2nd half of it.

SQ really has one of the best inflight entertainments!
i cant wait for our next holidays - yes, that has been booked as well!
coming up next mar!

Day 11 - Seoul: Insadong, Alive Museum, Samcheongdong



finally, last day of our long year-end trip!

we had a full day itinerary plan and all of us were showing tiny signs of fatigue by then but we did great this day too!

out the whole day and managed to do quite a fair bit of stuff!

 

we moved out of hotel after having breakfast there and took the subway to gyeongbokgung station (2 stops away).

 

having fun at the station

can you see the younger boy crying at the bottom right photo? I cant remember why but apparently the elder son thought its funny and I have this very zzz look...

 

first stop of the day was to tosokchon for its samgyetang of cos! personally, I still feel here serves the best samgyetang in seoul. yummmm. though the seafood pancake here is not really good.

we polished up the food easily

 

after our early lunch, we made our way to insadong. last year when we were here, we reached in the evening and this time round, i found the place much more interesting in the day.

and the hotteoks sold here are really the best in seoul. and random stalls serve much better ones than those frozen lots in myeondong.

gosh, i can eat 3 of them at 1 go by myself!

@ insadong

 

I had 4 free alive museum tickets courtesy of my coll who came to seoul in oct! :)

so we went to the branch at insadong and as with such museums like trickeye, we had a ball of a time taking silly photos!

 

here are some of them:

 

we left the museum and headed for samcheongdong. surprisingly, we realized its just a manageable walk from insadong with the help of a map.

 

and so im back in my fav. area in the whole of seoul - samcheongdong is so pretty and chill. absolutely lovely!

the husband and boys were tired in the late afternoon so they zonked out at cafe bene while I continued to shop around the region.

 

and so we ended the day with dinner at my fav. bbq place - maple tree house!

the unmarinated sirloin is totally yumssss!

spending a lovely time at samcheongdong

 

we took a cab back to the hotel after dinner and i spent the rest of evening packing the luggage. the boys were so tired that they were fast asleep by 9+ pm! :P

and hubbi and i didn't fare any better.. we hit the sack by 11pm for we have to wake up before 6am tomorrow to make our way to the airport for our 9am flight!

 

it has been such a lovely trip and the boys proved that they are more than capable to do long holidays and seems like they enjoyed most aspects of it.

even a simple cafe stop delights them and that is how I want them to see travel as - experiencing and seeing the new in everything.

hobbit 3 (spoilers ahead!) & lovely weekend

weekend started early for me with a handful of us heading to bk's house for a mini gathering yesterday after work!
some of us left work slightly before 6 to grab tibits and what's not and reached his house well before 6.30pm. :P
the last of the group reached the function room booked by 7+pm and we were all ready to start the party with pizzas from spizza, bah kwas and home-cooked bee hoon. oh and not forgetting all the cocktails concocted by HW!
just recovered from sore throat and losing of my voice, I refrained from drinking too much and stuck to safe old cranberry & lime juices. :P

we were talking and laughing hard for the 3 hours we were at the function room. and after 10pm, we adjourned to his house for more chatting, drinking and cards playing. LOL.
this network of friends at work is really one of the reasons why I sometimes head to work with a smile on my face!
let's hope our bintan/batam getaway in jan will really materialize!

though I only manage to sleep after 2am yesterday due to the gathering, I was up awake and ready for the day by 8+am!
the ng family is heading out to town today to catch a movie! finally, both boys' enrichment classes have ended for the year so there will be no classes for these 2 weekends - leaving our mornings free - yeah!
so we moved out of the house to catch hobbit 3 at shaw lido at 10.45am! and it was such a great great show.

I started the trilogy not impressed with hobbit 1 & 2 at all. they were at best entertaining and from time to time I wonder if peter Jackson has lose the touch that he had with LOTR.
but he brings everything that I love so much about LOTR back in this last installment.

without giving away too many details (I try..), there are so many touching parts in this installment that it took all I have to not sob out loud towards the end. :(
while he may or may not did it right with Frodo and sam's friendship in the LOTR trilogy, he nailed it this time round for thorin and Bilbo.
and martin freeman is such a wonderful actor - he breathed life into Bilbo baggins.

don't read any further if you have not watch the show!
I started tearing at the part when thorin struggled with himself and finally surfacing triumphing over himself. and all the moments between Bilbo and him. so sad.
now I think I might start to understand a little at why Bilbo ended up the way he was at the start of LOTR 1. after the journey with the dwarves, after this great adventure that taught him about life more than he ever will know if he never leave bag end, after seeing the deaths of those he came to hold dear to him...
and thranduil, king of elves from mirkwood and father of legolas, was especially moving when he talked to tauriel about love.

as I mentioned to the husband, the part that I loved most about LOTR series is that evil can never conquer goodness. if you have that last streak of good in you, you will always come back to your senses. they always come back - thorin, boromir, Bilbo, Frodo etc
seriously the only pure soul in the whole installments has to be samwise gamgee!

and the song at the end when the credits were rolling is awesome. i feel like tearing when i heard it.
it's called the last goodbye and aptly sang by pippin (if you still remember who's who in LOTR)!

here it is!

bday + early xmas gathering with the peeps

oh yes, before i forgot - met up with the gang for jx & my birthday dinner + early xmas gathering last Saturday.

dinner was at latteria mozzarella bar which serves crazy delicious food for the pricing - its macaroni & cheese is so sinfully good!

as usual gift exchange with pressies ~$20 but really an easy feat given how choosy/picky some of us can be.

 

and as usual, im not happy with my pressie like last year!! haha.

but the boys were more excited with it than me. hubbi and I decided to use it on x'mas - will post photos of it if we really come to that....

 

group pix and can you see who are the ones unhappy with their gifts from the group photo? ha

been so busy since my trip that I haven't been really taking shots of my outfits.. these are found in my hp, randomly taken over the last 2 weeks?

left: top & pants from gg5

right: peplum top & skirt from topshop

no, I didn't deliberately match outfits by brands..

2 movies + wang dae bak

i took the day off on Monday. supposed to go for a movie date with the husband in the afternoon but poor him had to cancel his leave in the midst of his busy quarter-end closing.
so I have the day to myself. I have the option of staying home with the boys or venturing out myself.
not really a very tough decision for those who know me.
but as im really in no mood for shopping (or maybe that's my wallet channeling its thoughts to me) despite the season, I decided to reward myself with my fav. activity - catching shows on the big screens. which is really a luxury for most parents..

so in the morning, I had breakfast with the boys and hubbi. after that, I made my way to town to catch my 1st show for the day (yes, by saying that it means I DID catch a 2nd show in the same day).
and so "interstellar" it will be! no brainer since this is 1 blockbuster I've been wanting to see since the day it was released.

the 3 hours long show kept me on my toes all the way, especially towards the end when the plot thickens and swept me along together with my bladder crying for release. @_@
maybe it was not such a great idea to buy that vitamin water to keep me hydrated for the show...

not exactly Nolan best film in my opinion (Dark knight is still my personal fav.) but still impressive not unlike how prestige is. throwing in some big questions for the viewers to ponder while sucking you into the drama of the characters at a personal level.
is it worth saving humanity if it means throwing away the very things that make us human?
and the father and daughter story threading through the whole show - gosh it wrangled so many tears from me...

McConaughey's performance was good but not really so good that it alone can hold up the whole show like how bullock did for gravity. but like any Nolan's shows, he was supported by a more than capable supporting cast. and as usual after watching a good show, I launched into a full descriptive mode with the husband when I saw him in the evening (despite him hasn't watch it yet) and he impressed me with his science knowledge just like when we first started dating.. LOL.
somehow he can explained relativity theory in layman terms though I cant seem to articulate it back to another being when it seems so easy and clear when I heard it from him... oh well.

after the show, I rushed to another theatre to catch my next show (all in 30mins!) - hunger games 3 - mocking jay part 1. and as with the general review, it's a pale shadow of its predecessors. :(
Lawrence seems to lose her magic here. she acted a bit hard here - I cringed abit at all the traces of acting.. lets hope part 2 will be better and its not like I can stop watching the series here....

and that was how I spent my leave day basically. it was well into late afternoon after the 2 shows so I walked a little in town before heading east to find the boys.
maybe a little incredulous to some on how I chose to spend my leave day but the reel world has always been some sort of solace to me from time to time.

anyway, yesterday evening I decided to do an impromptu dinner with gb and ching after chatting in line. we decided to meet at wang dae bak at 6.30pm sharp for yummy Korean food on a cold evening.
BUT I thought we were meeting at the amoy branch and proceeded there with them waiting for me at the china square branch!! argh! not funny walking from amoy to look for them in heels. @_@

anyway, either WDB's standards have dropped or the china sq branch CMI. service was slow and we had to press the bell for help like a dozen times, kimchi pancake was so-so etc.
the company was the only redeeming part. lovely catch up with the peeps and we ended dinner early before 8pm and I proceeded to send myself home driving gb's car. ha!
I was even home before the husband fetched the boys back from my mum's! what a nice way to end the day in mid-week. :)

Day 10 - Seoul: Nami Island



today, we headed off to nami island!

we moved out from our hotel early and took the subway to yongsan train station (10-15mins by subway). from here, we took the ITX train to gapyeong station which we've already booked the tickets online back in SG. you can change the timing here at the station if you wish to take the train earlier or later at no extra costs.

 

the journey took us like an hour from yongsan. upon reaching gapyeong station, just hop onto the shuttle bus or taxi to the ferry terminal  for nami island.

for us, we didn't want to wait around for the shuttle bus so we opted for the taxi which makes more sense for our family at 4 - just a short 10mins drive at less than S$6.

 

at the ferry terminal, we bought the tickets (inclusive of both ferry ride and entrance fees).

clockwise from top left: @ yonsan station, on board the ferry to nami island, arrival @ gapyeong station, waiting for ferry at ferry terminal

 

remember to come to nami island early. we reached around 10+am and though there were people but its manageable and you can take some decent shots. by the time we left around 3+pm, it was swarmed with tour groups and what's nots. madness.

we reached nami island!

 

there were animals on nami island - some which roam free like squirrels, peacocks, rabbits etc. and others enclosed like ostriches so the boys had some close encounters with them.

don't think nami is at its prettiest the time we were there. most of the trees were bare getting ready for winter.. ha. 

the boys enjoying snacks like hotdogs, ice-cream along the way

nami island is very kids friendly as no smoking allowed on the island in general and it has playground and family bicycle rental etc

in short, an island which you can easily spend half a day on and great scenery for photo-taking

 

wefie by hubbi

 

we headed back to seoul city the same way - taxi to gapyeong station, ITX train back to yongsan station. from there we took subway to city hall area to walk around abit (more tea breaks..) before heading back to myeongdong for dinner.

we went back to the wangbijib which BBQ is good but I find it too pricey. tomorrow im going to my fav. BBQ place in samcheongdong!

left: tea break at Mangosix

right: dinner @ wangbijib

Day 9 - Seoul

we checked out of LG Konjiam after breakfast and started on our long way back to seoul city.

1. 10mins shuttle drive from resort to Konjiam terminal

2. boarded local bus 500-1 from terminal back to seoul city.

luckily we waited only around 10mins in the cold wind *brr* before the bus arrived. then, it was an hour plus ride back to Jamsil area in Seoul.

3. at Jamsil, took subway back to myeongdong area where our metro hotel is located - 25 mins ride away.

 

again, our room was ready for check-in when we reached around noon time! *sweet*

after collecting our luggage previously deposited with the concierge before we left for LG Konjiam, and unpacking abit, we moved out for lunch at bonjuk - a congee place in myeongdong.

 

actually my preference is migabon congee place in myeongdong but we have no chance to revisit it this time round. :(

 

left: tea break at beans bin (their waffles is really good, we ate there a few times..:P)

right: lunch at bonjuk

 

we have no fixed itinerary for the day so we spent the day at shinsegae department store and walked around the whole of myeongdong!

sort of became a shopping day for mummy but no one is/should be complaining!

I didn't have much time to do any decent shopping for the trip so far!

more on what I bought for this trip later. :P

 

special request by the vain didi to take this photo



 

a relaxing city day for us. we will be heading to nami island tomorrow!

 

Day 8 - LG Konjiam



so what can we do at an off-peak ski-resort?

the good thing is there are nice walking trails around the resort that we can explore.

so for our full day here at LG Konjiam, we did quite a fair bit of hiking but also got the rest our tired bodies deserved now that we were entering the 2nd phase of the trip and the boys have been doing full day itinerary excursions with us for the past 1 week!

 

so how did we do that?

 

after breakfast in the comforts of our room, we spent the morning hiking up the mountain to a botanic gardens (which was closed.. LOL).

it was a good walk up and down the mountain which took us an hour plus.

 

can you see our resorts at the back in the top left photo?

 



after the walk, delicious lunch @ Mirasia

and guess what we did after lunch? for the first time for the trip, the ng family took a nap together! LOL. naps is such a luxurious thing even back at SG.
and all of us were actually abit worn down after a week+ into the trip where we were out of the hotel/resort early in the mornings and only back in the evenings...
so it was a good nap until almost 4pm. :P

after the nap, we tried another hiking trail which was really trekking on trodden sand/mud gravel path... @_@
half the time, I was worried about snakes and wild animals..
but it was a different experience for us.

not really my cup of tea - :P

 

we had an early dinner at a jap restaurant back at the resort. again, we were the only patrons! LOL.

the food was very good though. good to know that the chef was not slacking.. or maybe for his only patrons, he put in that extra efforts.. :D

 

we had desserts and coffee at the café next to it. the boys entertained themselves running around on the rooftop while the husband and I took the rare chance to just chill and chat.

 

dinner & desserts for our last night here at LG Konjiam

 



again, we retreated to the room after some tidbits shopping at GS25 - their equivalent of our 7-11 - to nua the night away.
again, channel surfing is really the ng's family's favorite activity! tsk tsk.

and tomorrow, we will be heading back to seoul to spend the last 3 days of our trip! *wee*
my favorite city for now!

Day 7 - LG Konjiam

today, we made our way to a ski resort - LG Konjiam!

we checked out from metro hotel around 10am and deposited our luggage with the concierge. armed with only our smaller luggage, we were ready to made our way to LG Konjiam ski resort for our 2D2N getaway. lol. we feel like this is a mini getaway within our Korean trip.

 

once again, I think hubbi and I are very resourceful. as usual, with only bit of information from internet and a fair bit of asking around with the locals, we managed to make our own way to the resort!

it took us 25mins to travel by subway from myeongdong area to jamsil area (where lotte amusement park is located anyway). from there, we found the bus-stop to take a local bus which is supposed to take us to Gonjiam terminal (out of seoul anyway).

when the bus came, I was trying so hard to check with the driver if it's going to Gonjiam terminal and the way we pronounced "Gonjiam" was vastly different. lol.

 

in any case, we boarded it and for the first half of the journey, I was trying my best to look at road signs to see if we were travelling in the right direction.. but the further we moved away from seoul, the road signs with english words slowly ceased until all were in Korean. @_@

so I cant be bothered and retreated to watching show on my hp. :P

from the website, I was supposed to be a 2 hours ride but either its wrong or traffic was very smooth for a weekday, we reached the terminal in slightly over an hour time. and it was the bus driver who called out to us, he was shouting "oedi?!" repeatedly and luckily I know that is "where" in Korean so I shouted from my seat "Kon-jee-am" (the way they pronounced gonjiam...) and he indicated we have reached the stop so we quickly scrambled down.

 

and the bus stop was in the middle of nowhere in a sort of sub-urban town. we tried asking the receptionist of a nearby hotel only to be ignored for the guy seemed to understand no English. and it was way colder here than in seoul so in desperation, we seek refuge in a café. luckily, the waitress knew some English and told us that the resort shuttle bus pick-up point is right in front of the café! what luck!

 

so while waiting for the shuttle bus, we had our desserts break! :D

 

angel-is-us café with their yummy thick toast

 

the shuttle bus came and we reached the resort in 15mins time!



 

left: at the resort lobby

right: our very nice hotel room/apartment

 

and after touring the place, we noted that there was minimal snow on the slopes, definitely not enough for any skiing or sledding. so we went to check with the reception on when will the man-made snow be sprayed only to be told it will be done so on 1st of Dec. @_@

major face-palm moment. no wonder the hotel rates were so low as compared to a month later!!

it was like 150+ compared to a 300+ in Dec month and that was because the resort is operating as off-peak in nov with no snow-related activities going on! OMG.

 

still, the resort has its fair shares of activities to do in-house but I was a little disappointed for the boys' sake.

but the good thing is they enjoyed their stay here still doing other stuff. and I think that is the beauty of having no expectations! ha. for this trip, I promised them nothing and told them upfront nothing of what we will be doing. the way we positioned is more of a just come along and enjoy whatever we are doing kind of trip to them. :P

 

anyway, within the resort, there were gorgeous walking trails which we did for the first day there.

it was a good afternoon spent just walking with the boys and taking photos.

 

traces of autumn left before winter comes

much colder here than in seoul - *brrr*

 

we checked out some of the activities in the resort and the boys opted for the 4D rider which was surprisingly quite good.

in any case, i was a little scared when on it. YZ has chosen a roller coaster like ride for us. :(

 

the boys enjoyed this ride!

time flies and it was dinner time. we settled it in an Italian restaurant in the resort. and we were the only patrons! LOL. how off-peak huh...

but the food was really good. especially my roast chicken risotto! absolutely yummy!
yz got his pizza fix and the husband enjoyed his boring yummy spaghetti bolognaise so it was a good meal!

@ big-6ix restaurant

 

spent the night channel surfing! the resort tv has over 100 channels which is crazy. the boys finally get to cartoon characters sprouting english instead of Korean! and after they slept, hubbi and I were spoilt for choices for movies too.

 

so that is how they keep customers entertained during off-peak season. :P